2 squared is 4, which is more than 2. However, 0.2 squared is 0.04, which is less than 0.2. Can someone explain this apparent contradiction where a number between 0 and 1 squared becomes less than the original number but everything else (more than 1) becomes more?

Question

And I understand for example if I’m talking about meters, it’ll become square meters so the comparison is not apples to apples anymore. But in situations where there is no unit (for example, a math equation where you need to find x, whatever X is), why is this not contradictory?

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Answer 1

You might find it easier to think of squaring as multiplying, and multiplying by a fraction (or a decimal) as dividing (by its reciprocal). So squaring a decimal is the same as taking a number and dividing it by a number, which naturally results in a smaller number.